> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://sailia-mintlify-5b02008a.mintlify.site/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Capacity management

> Control session capacity with manual or auto limits, and let admins override capacity to overbook a session when needed.

Capacity controls how many participants can book a session. Sailia gives you two ways to manage it — **manual** for a fixed limit, and **auto** for sessions that share equipment or staff with other sessions.

## Manual capacity

Manual capacity sets a fixed number of spaces on a session — for example, six people on a kayak tour. It's the right choice when a session has a clear, independent participant cap that doesn't depend on shared resources.

* Set the number in the session's capacity field.
* The session shows as **sold out** once the limit is reached.
* Customers can join a [waitlist](/activities/waitlists) if it's enabled.

## Auto capacity

Auto capacity calculates available spaces dynamically from the [kit and resources](/activities/activities#kit-and-resources) assigned to the session. Use it when the same equipment is shared between overlapping sessions and you need to prevent double-booking.

For example, if you have 10 paddleboards split between a beginner lesson and an open hire running at the same time, auto capacity automatically reduces the spaces on each session as bookings come in on the other.

## Capacity is always enforced

However you configure it, Sailia enforces capacity strictly:

* Online checkout blocks bookings once a session is full.
* Walk-in [POS](/point-of-sale/overview) sales respect the same limits.
* Shared booking links cannot exceed the available spaces.
* Partial overbookings are prevented — a basket needing 4 spaces fails cleanly if only 3 remain.

<Note>
  Staff with the [Operator Booking](/staff/permissions#operator-booking) permission can override capacity for in-person bookings — see [admin capacity override](#admin-capacity-override) below. Online customers can never exceed the limit.
</Note>

## Admin capacity override

When you need to squeeze a regular into a full session — a returning customer, a last-minute walk-up, or a school group that asked for one extra spot — staff with the **Operator Booking** [permission](/staff/permissions#operator-booking) can deliberately overbook a manual-capacity session from the admin booking flow.

The override only applies when:

* The booking is created in-person from the [calendar](/getting-started/calendar-view), not online.
* The staff member has the **Operator Booking** permission.
* The session uses **manual** capacity. Auto-capacity sessions can't be overridden because they're driven by physical kit limits.

### Trigger the override

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the session and start a booking">
    Open the session popup from the calendar and select **New booking**, as in [book a customer in person](/activities/book-in-person).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add more tickets than the remaining capacity">
    In the ticket step of the booking wizard, increase the ticket quantity past the remaining spaces. The wizard skips the usual "Capacity limit reached" block and shows an **Admin capacity override** notice instead, listing how many tickets are selected and how many spaces are actually available.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review and confirm on the summary">
    The summary step repeats the override notice, including how many spaces the session will be overbooked by. Take payment as normal — the booking goes through despite exceeding capacity.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### What happens after checkout

* The session is marked as **overbooked** in the admin UI. You'll see a red `Overbooked: <sold>/<capacity>` badge in the session popup, a coloured progress bar on the [what's on calendar](/getting-started/calendar-view), and an overbooked label in the activity and slot overviews.
* Sailia writes an audit note onto every booking in the overbooked session, recording how many spaces it was overbooked by and how many tickets were sold against the configured capacity. The note is timestamped and attributed to the staff member who took the booking.
* The next online customer still can't book — capacity remains enforced for everyone except the operator who triggered the override.

### Example audit note

After a successful checkout that pushed a session of six over by two tickets, you'll see a note like this on each affected booking:

```text theme={null}
Admin capacity override: booking overbooked by 2 spaces. 8 tickets sold despite a capacity of 6.
```

Open the booking from the [bookings dashboard](/activities/managing-bookings#bookings-dashboard) to read the note in the booking's notes panel.

<Warning>
  Overbooking bypasses your normal capacity safeguards. Make sure the session can physically accommodate the extra participants — staffing, kit, and safety ratios — before completing the booking.
</Warning>

## Choosing between manual and auto

| Use case                                                | Recommended setting |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| A standalone session with a fixed group size            | **Manual**          |
| A class that doesn't share equipment with anything else | **Manual**          |
| A hire that shares boats with a lesson at the same time | **Auto**            |
| Multiple sessions that share the same kit pool          | **Auto**            |

See [group bookings](/activities/group-bookings) for the related question of how to size tickets and capacity for parties.

## Related guides

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Activities" icon="calendar" href="/activities/activities">
    Set kit ratios, sharing rules, and the underlying capacity configuration.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Group bookings" icon="users" href="/activities/group-bookings">
    Configure tickets and capacity for larger parties.
  </Card>
</Columns>